Firing on diplomats draws global outrage

More than a dozen governments from the Arab region, Europe and Asia have slammed Israel after its military fired "warning shots" at a group of about 20 diplomats near the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.

The delegation — including ambassadors and consuls from Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, Russia, Turkiye and the United Kingdom — was on a preplanned visit to assess the dire humanitarian situation in Jenin.

Several countries whose representatives were in the group summoned their respective Israeli ambassadors — asking them to explain the incident and initiate a probe into the matter.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said China is closely following the incident and firmly opposes any act that threatens the safety and security of diplomatic personnel.

She also called for a full investigation and efforts to prevent such incidents from happening again.

"Amid ongoing tension in the West Bank, China urges relevant parties, especially Israel, not to take any escalatory moves," she said.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also denounced the shooting incident in a statement.

It called on the international community, particularly the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, to take immediate action to stop Israeli violations against civilians, diplomatic missions and relief organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian territories.

"The Kingdom reiterates its demand for the activation of international accountability mechanisms in response to the ongoing crimes committed by the Israeli occupation" and its repeated violations of international law, including international humanitarian law, the statement said.

Jordan, Qatar and Turkiye were among the Middle Eastern countries to condemn the latest incident. Several European countries also made their objections known, including Germany and France, which said the incident was "unacceptable".

Mexico's Foreign Ministry said the Israeli military justified the action by claiming that the diplomatic delegation had entered an "unauthorized area". However, Mexico said there was no record of this occurring or of any officer approaching the delegation to warn them verbally.

Regret expressed

The Israel Defense Forces said it regretted the incident and the inconvenience caused. The IDF said it has ordered an inquiry and is expected to hold talks with representatives from countries involved to clear the air.

The military alleged that the diplomatic delegation had strayed from a pre-approved route, The Times of Israel reported. The visit to the camp, where a recent military operation destroyed more than 100 buildings, was coordinated in advance, the military said.

Despite growing pressure from the international and domestic community, the Israeli army had intensified its bombardments across Gaza, targeting medical facilities such as the Al-Awda Hospital in the north of the enclave, and demolishing houses in the West Bank.

On the day the shooting incident occurred, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a rare news conference reiterating the key conditions for ending the fighting in Gaza.

The conditions are: the release of all Israeli hostages, the removal of Hamas from governing Gaza, the group's permanent disarmament, and the White House's controversial Gaza plan, which involves US control and the relocation of Palestinians.

Regional and international leaders have widely rejected the plan to uproot Palestinians.

Netanyahu said Israeli forces are landing powerful blows that will only get stronger against Hamas strongholds that still exist in Gaza, but promised that by the end of the operation, all the territory of Gaza will be under Israeli security control, with Hamas totally defeated.

Nagapushpa Devendra, a West Asia analyst and research scholar at the University of Erfurt in Germany, said the incident in Jenin "is a deeply troubling development" that raises serious concern about the safety of international personnel operating in the occupied Palestinian territories.

"This event follows a broader and increasingly worrying pattern," Devendra said, noting that UN officials, humanitarian aid workers and journalists have also been subjected to threats or attacks while performing their duties in Gaza and the West Bank.

"Such actions, whether intentional or due to operational breakdowns, undermine essential humanitarian and diplomatic missions," Devendra told China Daily.

While Israel has cited security protocols, she said, the international community rightly expects full protection and respect for those upholding international law and humanitarian work.